I Give You the Kingdom So that You Will Not Be Lost

Matthew 13:24-36

 

As we know, Jesus commonly taught in parables.  Parables were meant to give a clearer insight and understanding into the difficult concepts that Jesus was bringing to the children of Israel and the world. In this portion of scripture, Jesus is teaching about the condition and makeup of the Kingdom of heaven, a complicated and perplexing subject. This concept is hard for our minds to wrap around. It is like discovering quantum physics. The kingdom of heaven is complex and dimensionally not easily defined. It is something that we can experience and yet we cannot see it as a Kingdom should be seen. There are no fortresses and armies in the way we might normally have expected a Kingdom to appear. 

Thus Jesus explains it by telling about how the word of God can be planted, even as small as it might be, in receptive hearts, and then it grows and that this is part of the Kingdom. He tells us that the   Kingdom is also something unseen, as he puts it, like yeast. We cannot see the actual yeast in the bread dough but we know it is there because it changes everything and allows the bread to  expand. Thus the kingdom is expanding and growing. We often refer to yeast as "working" in the bread. So it is with the kingdom as it continues to work its way into our lives almost unseen, and  into the life of the culture we live in.

Indeed, His birth opened a door that we had no idea was being opened. Visually we can almost see Jesus in this long trailing cape that comes out of the heavens following him to earth as it brings this swath of material into the world ( the kingdom). There is no doubt that Christ's impact has left us and the world remarkably changed. Even in its great sin, the world's expectations, vision, and  moral compass were radically changed.  It would be a long dissertation here if I were to go into how Christ's teaching erupted the world order that existed when He entered the world.

However, it is important to simply consider how we as a country, a community, a church, a neighborhood  etc. respond to national or international tragedies or disasters. As a predominantly Christian nation, America is incredibly generous when it provides assistance to  others through out the world. And it is not just in this country. Christianity has been the leader in changing the world from disowning its poor, afflicted, down trodden etc. to a world that provides agencies, funds etc. in order to assist people  in all sorts of situations. There is even a world consensus that frowns on mistreatment of human beings. Yes, I know it is far from perfect. There are huge humanity problems left unattended. Yet, the impact is there. The kingdom is working. We must truly give examination to what the world would be like today if Christ had not come to earth.

 

It is interesting that at the end of these  three important parables, Jesus' disciples ask him to explain what he has just taught them. But they do not ask  about all three parables, just the one about the wheat and the weeds. The wheat and the weeds stands out because like some other passages we have seen over  this week, it explains a reality that we often would rather not deal with. It answers the question that even today, we struggle with: "will my unbelieving friends who scoffs at God and religion, will they also go to  heaven?" In the wheat and the weeds parable, Jesus pronounces several things. We are the wheat and the weeds i.e. we are the believers and non-believers. Satan is real and he is planting right along side of what God is planting. Like all weeds, Satan would like to take over the field. In the end God will harvest all and He will separate the wheat from the weeds. Those who have turned their back on the truth, will indeed, be tossed into the fire. It will not matter that they were nice people, with good reputations and generous hearts. If they decided that God was not for them and Jesus was just a myth, then God has a place prepared for them. It does not appear to be heaven.

Most of our culture, even our church going friends, do not want to hear this. It is a difficult Truth. It is the way God made this world and He is at the helm. It is the thing we struggle with because if we accept it, we must now understand in our head and even more troubling, in our heart,  that our loved ones who have turned away from God will have this as their eternity. And this breaks our heart. At the same time, it should make us want to lift them up in continuous prayer so that they may come to the Lord and know His gift. It should make us want to go to them one more time, and a time after that, to tell them the good news. Only God can save them. But he gives us a mouth and mind that can teach them and make the  complex idea of a heavenly Father looking for His  children a reality. It is our only hope.  He is our only hope.

 

Laurie Erdman